Flora of North America species comparison

30-150 (200) cm, glabrous or pubescent, sometimes scabrous.

(11)13.5-25(28) cm, smooth and glabrous throughout or sparsely to densely scabrous or puberulent below the inflorescence.

closed for less than 1/3 their length, persistent, glabrous or pilose, smooth or scabrous, sometimes scabrous or pilose only distally or on the distal margins;

collars usually densely pubescent or with a few hairs at the margins, sometimes glabrous;

ligules 0.2-5 mm, usually ciliate, abaxial surfaces puberulent;

blades 1-6.5 mm wide, conduplicate, convolute, or flat, 0.5-2(2.5) mm in diameter when convolute, deciduous, abaxial surfaces scabrous or smooth, glabrous or the bases pubescent, adaxial surfaces puberulent to pubescent, veins 9-15(17), ribs (3)5-15(17);

abaxial sclerenchyma forming more or less continuous bands, sometimes reduced to small strands;

adaxial sclerenchyma sometimes present;

girders or pillars present at most veins.

closed for about 1/2 their length, glabrous or scabrous, stramineous or brownish, persistent or slowly shredding into fibers;

collars glabrous;

ligules 0.1-0.5 mm;

blades 0.5-1 mm in diameter, conduplicate, abaxial surfaces glabrous, smooth or scabrous, adaxial surfaces scabrous, veins 5-7, ribs 3-5, 1 distinct and 2-4 indistinct;

abaxial sclerenchyma in 3-7 small strands, covering less than 1/2 the abaxial surface and usually less than twice as wide as high.

10-25(30) cm, open, with (1)2(4) branches per node;

branches spreading and lax.

(1)3-4.8 cm, contracted, usually panicles, sometimes racemes, erect, with 1-2 branches per node;

branches erect, lower branches with (1)2+ spikelets.

8-18(20) mm, borne towards the ends of the branches, with 3-6(8) florets.

pseudoviviparous, their length varying with the stage of vegetative proliferation, the glumes and often 1 or 2 adjacent florets more or less normally developed, or only slightly elongated, the distal florets replaced by bracts.

lanceolate, glabrous or sparsely scabrous at the apices;

lower glumes (4)4.5-6.7(8) mm;

upper glumes (5)6-10 mm;

lemmas (7)7.5-11 mm, lanceolate, scabrous, puberulent, sometimes minutely bidentate, acute, usually awned, rarely unawned, awns (1)2-3(4) mm;

paleas shorter than to longer than the lemmas, pubescent or glabrous on the margins, intercostal region usually puberulent distally;

anthers (3)4-7.5(8.5) mm;

ovary apices densely pubescent.

lanceolate, glabrous and smooth, sometimes scabrous towards the apices, or puberulent throughout or only towards the apices;

lower glumes (2)3-6 mm;

upper glumes (2.7)3-7 mm;

normal lemmas 3.3-6 mm, mostly smooth or scabrous distally, glabrous or puberulent, awned or unawned, sometimes varying within a panicle, awns to 1 mm;

vegetative bracts unawned, leaflike, sometimes with ligules;

paleas usually reduced or absent, well-formed paleas about as long as the lemmas, intercostal region scabrous or puberulent distally;

anthers usually not developed, well-formed anthers to about 2 mm;

ovaries sometimes not developed;

ovary apices, when present, glabrous.

= 56.

= 49, 56.